Animal Instincts

Animal Instincts

Article excerpt

Skilled video editors and stirring soundtracks can work wonders on emotions. Like most viewers, I found it impossible not to get swept up in Planet Earth II's thrilling scenes of baby marine iguanas escaping racer snakes or giraffes battling packs of desperately hungry lions. Conversation in the Geographical office following the first broadcast centred around how the programme was a game-changer for wildlife documentaries. What became apparent though was that while the series was acting as a spectacular showcase for the wild kingdom, any deeper discussion about the very real threats many of the species featured are facing was mostly being left for other forums. Geographical's Laura Cole sat down recently with three of the team behind the BBC series to talk about the role of such programmes (see page 40).

It's widely known within media circles that the BBC's next major nature series is a follow-up to 2001's The Blue Planet and will once again take to the world's oceans. …